Monica Reif, a recent Blackhawk Technical College graduate, traveled to Germany in the spring of this year. Here’s what she shared about her experience.
My name is Monica Reif, and I am a recent graduate of Blackhawk Technical College’s Agribusiness/Science and Technology two-year program. As a three-credit graduation requirement, I had the opportunity to join Fox Valley Technical College on a 10-day long trip to Germany.
Throughout my trip, I learned a lot about German culture, people, places and agriculture. It was amazing to meet people from Germany and recognize all the differences between Germany and the United States. Not only did I enjoy German culture and food, I got the chance to go on many different tours of agricultural businesses. Some businesses were companies manufacturing and selling agricultural products we use in America, and some were businesses unique to Germany and different ways of farming. I enjoyed learning about the similarities and differences in farming practices between the two countries.
The course included multiple assignments and quizzes to prepare students for the trip, as well as a final project/presentation that small groups of students presented on the eighth night of the trip. I am grateful to have joined Fox Valley Technical College on the Study Abroad trip, and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I now have more professional skills, people skills, and better understanding of the agriculture industry I am a part of.
Another student, Breanna Santiago, is in Blackhawk’s Nursing program. She traveled to Sunderland, England, as part of a summer 2025 study abroad experience for the course Comparative Trends in Nursing and Global Healthcare. During her three-week stay, she earned college credit while immersing herself in topics such as the history of nursing in Sunderland and London, midwifery and maternity, pediatric nursing, mental health nursing and more. She also visited some related sites, including the Florence Nightingale Museum.
As Blackhawk begins to invest more in global learning, experiences such as Reif’s and Santiago’s could become more common. Blackhawk’s focus on global learning was on full display at the Global Learning Summit, held Aug. 20 on the college’s Beloit-Janesville Campus.
The keynote speaker for the Summit, Geoff Bradshaw, Ph.D., is an intercultural educator and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Madison College. He is also a leader in international program development.
“Our local community is global now,” Bradshaw said. “Our employers need students to be globally competent.” He stressed that employers say global competencies, such as understanding differing world views, communicating clearly, collaborating effectively and more, are crucial for job performance.
Bradshaw shared curricular and co-curricular global learning opportunities, highlighting ways to prepare students to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world. He provided tips on how global learning can be intentionally integrated across the student experience.
Bradshaw recommended a three-pronged approach to build a global learning initiative:
- Education abroad: This aspect sends Blackhawk students to other countries for educational enrichment.
- International students: This effort brings foreign students to Blackhawk to study.
- Internationalization in curriculum: This work adds knowledge of international issues and cultures to new and existing Blackhawk courses.
For the fall semester, Blackhawk is hosting its first-ever foreign exchange student, Linus Hamisch. The Hamburg, Germany, native is enrolled in general education courses. Watch for a future story on his experience at Blackhawk.